Homecoming
by Jacfu
Summary: Season 6: Episode 2: Homecoming. Meant to be read after The Baby Between Us. After being spurned from the Homecoming Crown the year before, Lillian De Ville goes on a crusade to get Chuckie elected Homecoming King and to make a point.
1. Chapter 1

Lillian De Ville grumbled as she saw the poster taped crookedly upon her locker. The poster was brightly colored in marker in the school's colors. It had a cartoon of their mascot upon it as well as a schedule of the week's events. She ripped off the piece of paper and tossed it onto the ground directly in front of her best friend, Kimi Finster. Kimi paused, looked at the ground and then Lil, to which Lil responded with, "It's Homecoming time again."

Kimi did not share Lil's sentiment. Instead she bunched her fists and jumped in the air. "Homecoming! It's schoooool spirit time!" She pumped her fists, just narrowing missing her brother who ducked her fist pumping as he walked up to Lil's locker with Tommy, and Lil's twin, Phil.

Phil saw the poster on another locker and his eyes followed the schedule. "Homecoming. Sweet. I love the parades. Too bad we can't throw candy this year. Some stupid jerk gets hit by a float and it ruins it for everyone."

"We told you to just let the taffy go, Phil." Tommy reminded him.

"I know, but a man will do weird things for saltwater taffy." Phil sighed, shaking his head in shame.

"And powderpuff!" Kimi added. "We are going to kick the upper classmen's butts this year. I am going to get out my playbook from the closet! "

Chuckie ran a finger under his collar. "And those themed clothing days. I don't have to worry about what I am going to wear for a whole week. It sure takes a lot of pressure off the mornings."

Lillian grumbled louder as she saw how excited her friends were. She pointed at Kimi. "Since when do you care about football?" Then pointed at Phil, "Or school spirit?" Then finally at Chuckie, "Or what you wear?"

"Hey..." Chuckie said, looking down at his outfit which consisted of a long sleeved gray shirt, a burgundy button down over it and camoflauge pants. "I care what I wear. I mean, I'm covered, aren't I?"

Tommy then asked, "Why are you so down on the Junior High Homecoming, Lil?"

Kimi then leaned into Tommy's ear to whisper, "Last year she was nominated for Homecoming Queen and no one voted for her."

"Oh." Tommy's face fell, and then everyone else's, especially when he saw the sad look in Lil's eyes. Lillian turned to her locker, putting her backpack inside and getting out her books for the next class. Tommy felt like he had to explain. "Sorry, Lil. I don't normally vote for things like that. I don't even look."

"Me either." Phil replied.

"I voted for you." Chuckie replied, raising his hand.

"Thanks, Chuckie." Lil said, sadly.

Tommy went on. "It doesn't really matter, right? No one remembers those things and it's just a popularity contest anyway. No one even cares about those things."

Lil gave Tommy a glare which made Tommy laugh nervously. "Not helping." Kimi voiced out of the corner of her mouth to Tommy.

Phil turned around. "She's got that look in her eye. You are on your own." He then left the rest of them standing at Lil's locker. Chuckie looked after Phil, wondering if he should make his escape as well.

Tommy continued to dig himself a bigger hole. "It's great to be nominated anyway, right? I mean, who cares if no one really voted, it's an honor to see your name on the ballet."

"They didn't see my name on the ballot if they didn't vote." Lillian bit out, her brows narrowing.

"Okay, I'm out of here." After seeing the look now on Lil's face Chuckie was the next to go. He quickly ran off to catch up to Phil.

"You gotta be some kind of supermodel to get something like that anyway, right?" Tommy just continued to dig.

Lillian looked like she was just about ready to punch Tommy Pickles right in the face when Kimi stood between them. "Oh look, we are going to be late for English class. Let's go, Lil." Kimi then grabbed Lillian's arm and the two walked down the hall. Seeing that Lil had left her locker door open, Tommy shut it for her. He sighed and then went to class.

Even in class, or especially in class, Lil couldn't keep her mind off of Homecoming king and queen. She remembered how excited she had been when she had been nominated, but her friends hadn't shared the same sentiment. In fact, most of them had forgotten. They hadn't voted. Well, Chuckie did, and she knew that Kimi had as well, but that was all. Normally Lil would have taken the exact same attitude as they did-not cared. It was just a popularity contest, a race to see who could get more people to recognize their name on the ballots. It was true that no one really remembered, but at the time Lil had been honored to be nominated. It meant that she was almost popular. It meant that she'd had a chance. That is, until she learned that some people never truly have a chance.

She'd lost to Brianna. That was the worst part. That was worse than her friends not voting for something they didn't really care about anyway. Brianna was cruel and spiteful. Sure she had perfect hair and the best clothes. Sure her parents were rich, but she was an awful person. Still, the awful person won. It seemed like it was always that way. The meanest, cruelest, but best looking and richest person always won. "It's not fair!" Lillian slammed her fist on the desk.

The sudden silence caused her to look up to find that the class was looking back at her. The teacher said, "I know that you don't particularly enjoy reading the classics, Miss DeVille, but such outbursts are not necessary. I am passing out these workbooks to finish as you read Moby Dick, no matter how unfair it is."

Lil blushed and then hung her head. She looked at her packet once it was set upon her desk, but she didn't see it. She only saw in front of her Homecoming posters. Homecoming was such a farce. The homecoming king and queen elections were the biggest farce of them all.


	2. Chapter 2

"Homecoming!" Angelica Pickles ripped the poster off her locker, but held it up in her hands in triumph. A large smile spread across her face. "That crown is mine this year! You will see-it will be spectacular. I, Angelica Pickles, walking down the red carpet wearing my new beaded white dress with matching shoes and silver earrings. Or maybe pearls. Royalty always wears pearls."

"The crown is gold, Angelica." Susie Carmichael reminded her with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah. That will clash. Something purple then-royal." Angelica bunched up the poster and then tossed it in the bottom of her locker along with all of the other junk that she couldn't be bothered with.

"Before you pick out your coronation outfit, maybe you'd better win it." Susie suggested, crossing her arms as she leaned against the lockers. Harold nodded, standing by Susie, but being silent thus far.

"Susie, I don't see how I can lose. There is no one in this school that is more beautiful, more deserving, than I. The crown is even already my head size. It is like they knew ahead of time."

"I understand that Savannah is in the running." Harold then said. This illicited a smile from Susie.

Angelica rolled her eyes. She carefully applied lipbalm and tossed it on the floor of her locker too before scolding Harold. "Harold, you idiot. It's all based on nomination. You have to write in who you'd like to see nominated for king and queen. Frankly, I'm so popular I won't have to do anything at all."

"But Savannah has been talking to people all day asking people to nominate her." Harold added. Susie couldn't hide the amused smirk on her face.

"She has?" Angelica's eyes widened in horrified shock. "Ugh! She's probably talked to all the cool kids already before me. She's such a..." Angelica balled up her fist, ready to punch her locker door.

"Such a what, Angelica?" Came a voice from behind her. It was Savannah approaching with Brianna and Chelsea a few paces behind her. Savannah tapped her foot, awaiting Angelica's answer, though she made sure that her face only showed slight annoyance on top of thinly veined disdain.

"She is such a...go-getter!" Angelica then pumped her fist in the air. "So smart to be securing nominations beforehand." Angelica then gave an awkward laugh.

"Riiiiight." Savannah said. She chewed her gum and then blew a bubble. Once it popped she replied, "Once I am nominated, I am going to need you in my committee for homecoming queen. As a reward, I'll let you ride in my limo to the homecoming dance."

Angelica smiled her condescending smile. "I'd love to Savannah, but I will be heading my own committee."

"Riiiight. See you later, Angelica." Savannah waved once and then walked on by Angelica, Susie, and Harold.

As she walked by, Angelica called out, "But I still get to ride in the limo, right?" After hearing no answer, she turned back to her two closest friends. "I have to win this." Angelica slammed her locker shut. "Harold, talk to everyone you see. Everyone in your classes. Everyone on the sidewalk. I have to win this."

Later at lunch, Tommy was glad to see Lil sitting alone at the table. Soon the others would be coming too, but he wanted to talk to her alone first. He'd felt guilty all morning about what he'd stumblingly said at her locker. He got his food and then sat down beside her. "Hey, Lil." Tommy replied as he waited for her to look at him. She had a purple streak in her hair today, he noticed. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said earlier today."

"It's okay, Tommy. I'm not really mad at you." Lil was using her fork to play with her cucumber applesauce. "I am just frustrated because you are right. It is just a popularity contest. But, just once, I'd like to see someone who deserved it get it. It's always the same people out of the same group. Then, when they go on to high school then it is their friends and their siblings that get it next. And they aren't even that well liked, they just have the right look or their parents are teachers or something."

Tommy nodded. "I know what you mean. That's part of the reason that I don't even look at the ballots. It's no one that I know or care about, so I don't vote for anyone."

"But if you don't vote, Tommy, how can that ever change? If we don't nominate the right people, vote for the right people, we are just going to get the same results over and over again. Only we, the voters, can bring real change!"

"This isn't voting for President, Lil." Tommy replied, looking at her.

She sighed in defeat. "You don't understand. I want to see someone worthwhile have it. Someone that no one would expect. Someone totally unpopular that no one would ever nominate in a million years."

"Hey, guys!" Chuckie Finster then set his tray down across from Tommy and Lil. "It's fish and mayonaise taco day! I have to crunch up the taco shells or else they get stuck in my braces, but it's still my favorite lunch." As he sat down, he then felt Lillian's eyes upon him. He looked at her. Yep, her eyes were upon them and they had a funny look in them. Chuckie hesitantly asked, "What?"

Lillian's mischievous smile grew widely.

Chuckie gulped. "Why are you looking at me like that?"


	3. Chapter 3

"So this is how it is going down." Lil announced as she looked around the table at her friends gathered in the courtyard. It was just before homeroom and Lil had insisted that they all have this meeting. "The homeroom teacher will pass out the nomination sheet. I don't care who you put in for queen, but make sure that you write Chuckie's name for King. Got it? Try to convince others to do so as well. We don't need a lot of people-just enough to draw interest. A lot of kids are going to nominate themselves so anyone who gets more than one nomination is going to be put on the top of the pile."

Chuckie raised his hand. "Why am I doing this again?"

Lil then pointed at him as everyone's gaze followed her finger to Chuckie. "You are doing this because you are my very good friend who is going to help me stick it to the system."

"Oh. Well, since you put it that way." Chuckie commented, "Since we are sticking it to the Man, and all."

"That's right, Chuckie. We are sticking it to the Man. We are doing it for all of the people who should have gotten the crown instead of that snob, Brianna!" Lil proclaimed.

Kimi whispered to her brother, "Not that she's bitter about losing or anything." The bell then rang and everyone stood up to go to their separate homerooms.

Tommy went into his homeroom and sat down. The teacher passed out the nomination sheets as predicted and gave a brief explanation about how their name write-in will be considered for Homecoming King and Queen. Once Tommy got the sheet, he said aloud so that those around could hear him, "I am going to write in my friend, Chuckie Finster."

A girl raised her head and looked at him. She had freckles and brown hair, but was otherwise unremarkable. Tommy didn't even know her name. "Why?"

"Because he's my best friend and the coolest guy. No one else deserves it more. You should write him in too."

"Why?"

"Do you have anyone else in mind?"

The girl thought a moment and then shrugged. Tommy smiled as he leaned over and saw the name Chuckie Finster written on her sheet.

Lil took a different approach in her homeroom. She stood in front of the class and announced, "1% of the school gets all the glory, all the titles, all the attention. 99% are forgotten. I am part of the 99% and I want a king who will represent me and my ideals. Write in Chuckie Finster!"

Phil, also in Lil's homeroom, grumbled to her as she then sat down in her seat. "Are you Occupying Homeroom?"

Lil grinned to her brother. "You gotta reach the people, Philip." She then wrote in Chuckie's name, but left the Queen nomination blank. She thought about putting in her own name, but then her face turned downward. She couldn't take the rejection again. Blank it would stay. Phil, seeing her face, wrote Lillian's name in the Queen nomination line. He then showed it to his sister, which brought a small smile to her face. "Thanks, Philip."

Kimi was in her own homeroom taking an even more different approach. "Write in my brother! Do it! You too! Do it!" She then turned to Z, her green haired bad boy friend, who was sitting in his chair just watching her. "Z, can you help me out, here?" Z nodded and then glared at a kid behind him. "You heard her. Write in her brother. Finster. Learn it. Spell it correctly. Let it haunt your dreams."

Kimi grinned and then wrote in Chuckie's name for King. She also wrote herself in for Queen.

The rest of the school day went on as normal, as did the evening. The next day was School Colors day and the schools colors were blue and gold. Kimi came to school wearing blue track pants with gold trim down the sides. She also wore a blue shirt with a yellow long sleeved shirt underneath. She had three ponytails all tied with blue and gold ribbon. Chuckie just wore blue jeans and a yellow tshirt. Tommy wore his favorite shirt with yellow sleeves.

Lil refused to participate in the themed days. "She's still making a statement." He mentioned.

Though it wasn't mentioned, everyone was anticipating the announcement of the nominees for King and Queen in Homeroom. Time seemed to drag for Chuckie until homeroom, even though he tried to tell himself that it didn't matter and that he wasn't going to get nominated anyway because that would be absurd.

Chuckie wasn't the only one who had the nominations on his mind. Angelica had been painstakingly calling every contact in her cellphone. She'd also added "Nominate Angelica Pickles for Homecoming Queen" as a signature on her Ask Angelica advice column. As she sat in her own homeroom, she had her fingers and her legs crossed for luck.

Then Vice Principal Pangborn's voice came over the PA system. "It's that time of year again-Homecoming! When the best football team in the whole district is celebrated by wearing Hawaiian shirts and making floats. We've lost every Homecoming game for the past seven years, but don't let our sad and embarrassing losing streak dampen the celebrations. Now I will read out the names of those students who were nominated for his year's Homecoming King and Queen. The nominations for Queen are: Savannah Shane, Tiffany Lander, and Angelica Pickles. The nominations for king are: Darryl Kramer, Drew Willard, and Charles Finster. Finster-really? I mean...good luck to all those nominated. The winners will be voted on Thursday in homeroom and then crowned at the coronation dinner Thursday night."

Chuckie's mouth dropped open.

In another room, Tommy's mouth dropped open. "It worked. Chuckie is nominated for Homecoming King." He said aloud to himself. When the homeroom bell rang, Tommy raced out of the room to find his friend. Once he did, he ran over quickly and gave Chuckie a high five. "It worked! We got you nominated!"

Chuckie didn't look as excited about it as Tommy. In fact, he looked nervous. "I see no good coming from this."

"But Chuckie, don't you understand? You are actually nominated for Homecoming King! This is amazing!"

"Like anyone is going to vote for me." Chuckie remarked, being his usual pessimistic self.

"I am going to vote for you, Buddy." Tommy said, putting his hand on Chuckie's shoulder.

Suddenly Kimi came from out of nowhere and threw herself at her big brother, embracing him in a tight hug. "Ahhhhhhhh! This is sooo cool! Chuckie, you could actually be Homecoming King!"

"Angelica was nominated too." Chuckie pointed out.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Tommy said. "Dude, we gotta get the word out. We have only a few days to get you elected."

Lil came up then with Phil. "And that's not a lot of time. We need a strategy. I'll think up one in Government today. Everyone meet at the far table in the cafeteria at lunch. This is only the beginning." Phil was behind her shaking his head as he saw the way his sister was obsessed with this.

Chuckie gulped.

Susie then approached the group. "So how'd you pull this one off-getting Chuckie nominated?" She looked around the gathered preteens, a knowing smile upon her face. Her eyes finally landed upon Tommy.

"We all just wrote him in." Tommy answered with a shrug.

"Simple but effective. I like it." Susie nodded her approval.

Chuckie then lowered his head, his shoulders slumping. "But now I've been set up for supreme rejection, not just normal rejection-which I'm used to."

Susie put her hand on Chuckie's shoulder. "No necessarily, Chuckie. What you need to do is to take the underdog platform." She then waved with her other hand down the densely populated hallway. "Tell me, Chuckie, do you know all these kids?"

"Uh...no." He answered.

"Neither do I. The fact of the matter is, there's a lot more nameless, faceless, unpopular kids than there are popular kids. The nobodies will vote for the name they recognize. You got to make them recognize your name, and they need to feel like they have something in common with you."

"Being a nobody." Chuckie voiced what he felt Susie was too nice to say.

"A somebody, Chuckie. Somebody they can relate to."

Lil grinned deviously as she rubbed her hands together. "Oooh, this is good. Do you want to help us out, Susie?"

Susie shook her head. "Conflict of interest, Girl. I'm not getting in this. Angelica has already been all up in my face since she was nominated. You got my vote, though, Chuck-a-roo. I don't really like Darryl and Drew anyway." She said before she waved her goodbye and headed off to class.

Tommy patted Chuckie on the back. "That's five votes if you count all of us."

Chuckie sighed. "That's five votes better than zero."


	4. Chapter 4

Angelica was in the art room during a free period. She wasn't usually interested in art, but she was in the room specifically because her crush, Darryl, was in it. He was in there now speaking to Drew, who had come by just to talk before his next class. "I can't believe we both got nominated this year." Drew commented.

"We both got nominated last year." Darryl reminded his friend.

"Oh yeah." Drew replied in his usually lazy drawl. Then both young men laughed. Drew turned to Angelica, who was leaning on her elbow at one of the wooden worktables. "Good luck, Angelica. It's going to be a tough one this year. I don't know who I am going to vote for yet myself. Besides me."

"Well, then let me tell you-Me, of course." She said batting her eyes.

"What was the name of that other guy who was nominated? Finster?" Drew asked. He didn't hear Angelica grumble as she hung and shook her head.

"Charles...or something. That name sounds familiar." Darryl thought a moment and then it came to him. He snapped his fingers. "Angelica, isn't he your cousin's friend? The one with the braces."

Angelica rolled her eyes. "Yes. I don't know how he got nominated. I bet that Tommy is behind this."

"Wrong!" Came a female voice from behind the door. The door swung open and Lillian DeVille swaggered into the art room. She regarded them all, but her eyes fell upon Angelica. "I am." She then gave Angelica a smile of triumph.

"Lil DeVille. Well well well." Angelica tapped her fingers on the table. "I didn't think you had it in you. He'll never win. He's too much of a nobody."

"No, Angelica, that's exactly why he will win. He's going to beat out you..." She pointed at Drew. "and you." She then pointed at Darryl. The two looked at each other and laughed. It didn't change Lil's demeanor, though. "He's going to win because the people are taking back this contest."

"Whatever." Angelica sighed. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Making posters." Lil replied, going to one of the tables with posterboard and paints.

"It's going to take more than a stupid poster to put a crown on Chuckie's head."

"How about you, Angelica? Savannah is much more popular than you and she's got better hair." Lil said, which made Angelica quickly check for split ends in her blond tresses. Finding none, she pretended like Lil's comment about her hair didn't bother her sensitive self image.

"Making personal attacks is the first sign that you've lost the argument, Lil." Angelica rebuttled.

"Then you have never won." Lil replied and then moved to another table to be away from Angelica. Angelica was taken aback. Lillian DeVille always had sass, but she'd never been this snarky before. There may be hope for the girl yet. Angelica had no other reason to stay, other than to stare at Darryl, and so she gathered her purse and left the room.

Harold was in the hallway, almost as if he'd been waiting for her. Angelica simply dropped her purse upon him without a word and Harold carried it. He was always her willing slave. "What are you going to do about Lil DeVille?" Harold asked.

"Nothing. I could care less about what she's doing. There's no way Finster is going to beat out Darryl and Drew, so it's a non-issue. Savannah and Tiffany is what our focus is on. We have to think of something to make them look bad so that I look good by comparison."

Susie then came up from behind them and fell in line with Angelica and Harold. "Why don't you just do good things to make yourself look good instead?" She suggested.

"What?" Angelica looked at Susie like she'd just grown a third head. "But that would be sooooo hard!"

"And trying to find Savannah looking bad is easy?"

Angelica raised both of her hands as if weighing the pros and cons of each option. Finally, she looked back at Susie. "All right, making myself look good may be just a tad bit easier, but that's because Savannah is so sneaky." She then stopped and turned to her friend with her hands clasped, "But, I need your help with this one. No one is as goody good as you."

Susie rolled her eyes and then said in an annoyed tone, "I'll try to take that as a compliment."

"So you'll help me?"

"Sure, Angelica."

"Yay!" Angelica cheered, taking the moment to raise her fist in glory.

Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw Finster crossing the hallway in front of them. Her fist fell. She grumbled and said to her hallway walking buddies, "I'll be right back."

Angelica stalked down the hall behind Finster until he turned off around the corner. Now people were going to their classes so there was no one around. Chuckie knew that he'd be late for class, but even so he stopped in his tracks when he heard his name. "Finster!"

He turned around to find Angelica facing him in the empty hallway. Her hands were on her hips and her platform sandals planted shoulder width. This reminded Chuckie of a standoff. "Pickles."

"Don't think for a moment that you are going to win this..." She then started towards him, the thick heels of her sandals echoing in the empty hallway. "...Chuck. I have all of my friends voting for Darryl."

Chuckie's eyes narrowed, but he refused to let Angelica get him down. He was trusting this in the hands of Lil, and Lil had never let him down. Angelica, seeing as Chuckie had no comeback for her, assumed she was one step ahead. "I'm going to bury you, Finster. They'll have to pull you out of the sand by your braces. Though, honestly, it's barely worth the bother. The idea of you as King is laughable."

Chuckie then took a few steps forward himself. He dropped the bag held over his shoulder upon the floor. "You said so yourself that I could be cool if I only realized it."

Angelica then stopped right in front of him. If she was not wearing platform heels that made her look taller, they'd actually be the same height. "I didn't mean it. I was incoherent from lack of sleep."

"Just like you didn't mean that kiss?" Chuckie then blurted out, though as soon as he did he immediately regretted it. He put his hand over his mouth but it was too little too late. The words had already flowed forth.

"Shut it, Finster!" Angelica growled at him, her pupils dilating like a woman possessed. "I told you that if you told anyone I'd kill you."

"I didn't tell anyone." Chuckie said, more calmly now. He looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

"Not even Tommy?"

"Not even Tommy." Chuckie confirmed. No, he hadn't even told his best friend, although he really wanted to. He ached to tell Tommy. Tommy would have words of advice. Tommy at least had a girlfriend before. That gave him one up in understanding women, and being related to her also gave Tommy one up on understanding Angelica.

"Good. Forget it ever happened."

"Why did it happen, Angelica?" Chuckie had to ask in a last ditch effort to get her to talk about it. The truth was, it wasn't easy to forget. Chuckie had sat up at night thinking about Angelica's lips on his, the look in her eye, even the way she'd sat on the desk. For that brief moment Angelica hadn't been...well...Angelica. She'd been soft, caring, exciting, and wonderful. Like she had actually, kind of, liked him. She'd made him feel something that not even Nicole had made him feel. It was made even more confusing with the fact that this was Angelica. She was his best friend's cousin. She was also not the nicest person he'd ever known. Though he would say that Angelica had gotten better over the years, she was still his nemesis.

But now, with the kiss, his preteen hormonal body was forcing him to see beyond that. He looked at her now and she wasn't just Angelica Pickles-obnoxious cousin to Tommy and antagonist to them all. She was a girl. She was a pretty girl. A really really pretty girl. Beautiful even. She could even be caring and... No! Chuckie urged his mind to not go there right now.

Luckily, Angelica scolding him helped that. "Finster, forgetting it ever happened means NOT TALKING ABOUT IT! EVER!" She then turned on her heels and walked away. Chuckie just let her. He'd never figure out Angelica, and if she thought it was a mistake, it may make it easier for him to push it out of his own mind. Though, not likely.

As Angelica walked past, her nose up in the air, she hadn't noticed that Harold was around the corner with her purse, and that he'd heard everything.


	5. Chapter 5

"Our float is almost done." Phil De Ville announced as he stood beside a very proud and smug looking Dillon Pickles. "We just need another coat of paint and some finishing touches." Behind them was a large object on a trailer, covered by a white sheet. Tommy, Kimi, Lil, and Chuckie had come to the back yard at the De Ville house per Phil and Dil's request. "Behold!" Phil whipped off the cover dramatically, presenting a float made of styrofoam, duct tape, and neon green paint. It was a flying saucer landed on a planet's 'rocky' surface. Across the spaceship was painted in blue, "Probe the Panthers"-the Panthers being the rival team for the Homecoming game.

"A spaceship? Seriously? I knew that I should have been more suspicious when you said you wanted to make a float this year." Lil replied as she walked around the float. In all honesty, it wasn't too bad. Still, Lil wouldn't admit that to her brother and Dil. It would mean that she actually cared about Homecoming.

Kimi laughed as Chuckie shook his head and muttered, "That'll never make it past the censors."

"Even better," Dil added, "I am going to be wearing a costume. Since we aren't allowed to throw candy, Phil and I are going to squirt everyone with unset green jello." The two guys then gave each other high fives.

"That'll rock!" Tommy said as Chuckie laughed as well.

Lil grumbled, which only prompted Phil to say, "It'll be great! We are going to pull the float with Chuckie's dad's lawnmower. By the way, Chuckie, could you ask him if we could borrow the lawnmower?"

Dil looked upon his spaceship masterpiece with pride. "When the aliens see this, they'll establish contact for sure. They may even want me to design future ships. I wanted to make a probe too, but Phil wouldn't let me."

Phil added, "That was going too far, man. Too far." Phil then looked to the rest gathered around their float. "Are you guys gonna ride on the float with us?"

"Count me in. I'll even dress up as one of the Panthers so you can attack me on the float. I think I can get a costume from the costume shop in town." Tommy replied excitedly. Phil and Tommy then fist bumped.

"I'll pass." Lil replied. She was still taking a stance against the homecoming festivities, except for her mission to make Chuckie king of course. So far she'd talked to everyone on the soccer team, as well as everyone in her classes. She had Kimi doing the same and Susie even said she'd talk to the upper junior high classmen.

Kimi then said, "I'd love to, but I am going to be on the powderpuff truck this year. We are all sitting in the back in our football uniforms."

Chuckie then said, "I have to sit on a float with the king and queen's court." He then frowned. "It'll be weird, sitting there with all those popular kids. I am aiming to sit in the middle...so I don't fall off."

Tommy then gave his best friend a jab in the elbow and joked, "As long as you don't end up sitting by Angelica. Then I'll really feel sorry for you." He then said, "When is the coronation anyway?"

Chuckie sighed. "Thursday night. It's formal too. I'll have to walk down a red carpet in the gym while wearing a suit. I don't even think I own a suit. My last one doesn't fit anymore since that last growth spurt."

"But, Chuckie, wasn't that two years ago?" Tommy teased his friend again.

Kimi then grabbed her brother by the arm. "Never fear, Chuckie-chan! That is what sisters are for. Mom and I will take you shopping and make sure you look suave. We wouldn't let you be an embarrassment to the family." She then said to the rest, "You should have heard our dad when Chuckie told them that he was nominated. I think he was more excited than anyone. He and Mom are definitely going."

"I think he cried, even though he said it was just allergies. Are you guys going to come?" Chuckie asked then.

Tommy smiled. "Of course, Chuck man. Wouldn't miss it. Gonna support ya all the way."

Lil then said, "Phil and I will be coming too. I know I pushed you to do this, Chuckie, and you've been really great to let me. I want to see it through. Even if you don't win, it'll be an awesome night." She then gave Chuckie a grateful smile, which elicited a smile back.

Dil then added, "Mom and Dad will be there as well, especially since Angelica is in it too. It'll be great. The whole family will be there!"

As Dil spoke, Chuckie came to realize that he would be walking the coronation, in a suit, in front of not just people he didn't know, but his entire family and friends. Suddenly his stomach felt queazy and he swallowed back some bile that had come up in his throat.

"Yeah." He said, though his voice did not hold the same sentiment as his words. "It'll be great."

It was Thursday night when Kimi Finster led her parents into the Jim Jr Junior High Gym. Round tables had been set up with folding chairs for the families of the students. Each of the tables were covered with a white cloth and a flower centerpiece was placed in the middle of each. A red carpet began at each locker room door and met in the middle of the gym where the couple would walk down the long carpet to a stage that was erected on one side of the gym. The gym was decorated for the occasion in streamers and gold Christmas lights.

"It looks so pretty in here." Kimi commented as she sat down at one of the tables. Additional seating was created by the bleachers being pulled out on one side. While her parents sat down, each one dressed in their best as well, Kimi scanned the gym for her friends and their families. She spotted Tommy first and stood, waving him over.

Tommy wore a blue button down shirt and khaki pants. His mom made him wear a tie. Dil wore a sweater vest that actually matched his outfit, but in true Dil fashion still wore his Sherpa hat along with moccasins. Tommy waved back once he spotted Kimi and then urged his parents in that direction.

Chaz Finster stood up once Didi and Stu approached. "Hey, Stu, Didi."

"Hello, Chaz, Kira. I can't believe that we are actually going to our kids' coronation. They are growing up so fast." Didi replied. Seeing Chuckie was as important to her as seeing Angelica for Chuckie was practically part of the family as well and Chaz and Stu had been best friends since they were children. "I had to review Dr. Lipschitz book 'No Longer a Boy, Not Yet a Man' today."

Chaz nodded. "I know. It seems like only yesterday I was helping him button his own shirt. Now I was helping him tie a tie." Chaz started to sniffle and then quickly turned around. "Allergies." He insisted. "Gym floor wax has always affected my sinuses." Kimi just smiled as she heard her dad cover up his own emotions over the whole thing.

"You look great, Kimi." Tommy said as the parents all chatted.

"Thanks." She said, twirling around in her kimono. Both she and Kira decided to wear the traditional Japanese garment for the occasion. "You don't look too bad yourself, Tommy."

Dil then popped in front of his older brother. "What about me? I'm going for the Native American Sherpa Uncle Drew look."

Kimi laughed. "You look good too, Dil."

Phil and Lil then showed up as well, along with their parents. Betty and Howard De Ville grabbed a table beside the Finsters. The preteens then grabbed their own table as more people filled in. "This place sure is packed. I never realized that this Homecoming stuff was so popular." Tommy admitted.

"It's a way for the old folks to relive their fond childhood memories and to live vicariously through their offspring." Dil explained to his elder sibling as if that should be obvious to everyone. "Any time old people get to feel young again, they pile in droves."

"I never want to be like that." Tommy remarked, shaking his head solemnly.

"It'll sneak up on you. You won't even be aware when it happens." Dil concluded.

Charlotte and Drew were the last to show up. Charlotte had put away her phone for the evening. Well, not exactly put it away, but she did put it on vibrate for the occasion of her little girl's first coronation. Drew brought his new digital SLR camera. As he showed his brother, Stu, how it worked, Stu was already thinking up an invention to improve upon it.

Soon, the lights dimmed and the Vice Principal, Pangborn, stood at a podium on the stage. "Welcome, parents, students, to his years Annual Homecoming Coronation. I wrote a poem for the occasion." Slambang cleared his throat and then referenced a piece of paper he pulled out of the inside pocket of his suit.

"Games all week, games all month, but none's importance as forthcoming

As the last home game of the season, the one referred as Homecoming

Girls hike the ball, call first down,

Crossdressing cheerleaders, royalty's crown..."

Didi whispered to her husband, "Is this poem appropriate?"

"Nothing ever tops the week of Homecoming's cheer

Except perhaps Homecoming next year."

There wasn't immediate applause, but someone in the back started it, and soon awkward applause burst forth from the audience. The principal put the paper back into his suit pocket and then announced, "There was a record turn out for votes this year. Over seventy percent of students actually voted in homeroom this afternoon. It took myself and the entire Future Accountants of America club to tally them all before tonight's coronation. Usually we just pin the names up on the bulletin board of whoever got more than ten votes and throw darts. Anyway, here are your nominees..."

As Pangborn began naming the names, the king nominee would come from the boys' lockerroom on one side and the queen nominee from the girls' lockerroom on the other side of the gym. They'd meet in the middle under an archway decorated with garland and Christmas lights, stand for a moment for pictures, and then walk the carpet to the stage. The last ones announced were Chuckie and Angelica.

"Oh look at them. Angelica looks beautiful in this light. Drew, take a picture!" Charlotte insisted.

"They are so grown up." Chaz fought back another tear. He sniffled. "Allergies. Really, they should change the wax. Horrible for the environment." Kira smiled as well and snapped several pictures from her own digital camera.

"There's Chuckie and Angelica!" Kimi exclaimed, excited. She waved when she saw Chuckie look in their direction. Chuckie wore a navy blue suit picked out by Kimi. Angelica wore a long red dress with pearl earrings and matching necklace. Then the whole group waved to them. Chuckie blushed but Angelica soaked up the attention, posing for the flashing cameras and making sure that her good side was always shown.

Angelica kept her big smile as she stood on the stage with the rest of her competition. She and Savannah traded evil stares, though kept their smiles in place. Pangborn looked at the line of junior high kids and then out to the audience. "And now your Jim Jr Junior High Homecoming King and Queen are...Angelica Pickles, and Charles Finster."

Lil De Ville stood abruptly and raised her hands in triumph. She shouted so loud it echoed in the gymnasium. "YES! I won!"

Upon hearing her, Chuckie's hand slapped to his face even as the audience started their own applause. Both he and Angelica stepped to the front of the stage to be crowned and then to sit upon the thrones that were hastily put together by the 8th grade shop class.

"I don't know how you pulled that off, Finster." Angelica mumbled as the applause erupted around them. "But congratulations."


End file.
